The advent of social media has come and gone, and companies trying to grow their brand presence and awareness no longer have an excuse if their social strategy is not in place. Time and again, studies have shown that word-of-mouth is one of the most influential decision makers for consumers. Now maybe Facebook has diluted some of that WOM value, and more so than other social networks, because of the dozens of invites to pointless apps, events, groups, etc. that we all receive on a weekly basis. We have all had a friend or two that we’ve stopped listening to long ago, as their recommendations on movies and restaurants always left us disappointed, and baffled that anybody with a sense of taste could actually enjoy those things. On Facebook, this has probably translated into a bigger handful of people constantly trying to get you to join their ranks as a zombie or a ninja, or reach the seemingly impossible goal of “If 1,000,000 people join this group I will…” Despite all this filtering we must do to get to the messages and apps we actually value, Facebook has also removed virtually all barriers from allowing a product, an idea, or even a funny video from going “viral,” which is one of those buzzwords often overused by those who hardly know the meaning of it. And these same execs, while knowing all of the buzzwords (which ironically is a buzzword itself) associated with online marketing and social media, have still not understood the value they are losing every day by lacking the social networking presence their organizations can and should be supporting.
Being firmly rooted in online marketing and social media, I often look to see where gaps exist in the marketing efforts of big organizations with the resources available to cover all their bases, yet who sometimes miss the mark. Now I know it is easier to be critical than proactively constructive, but I have not yet had the opportunity to sit down with executives in these organizations to tell them my thoughts. (As an aside, on multiple occasions I have used the ‘Contact Us’ forms on these sites to send my suggestions, though rarely do I get a response or see any changes). And there is a reason I am not naming any of my current clients, aside from the obvious reason, and that is because regardless of whether or not they are engaging with us in certain services (e.g., email, social media), I am constantly brainstorming opportunities that will help my clients’ businesses, and subsequently enhance the programs I run. And as these new ideas are presented, and implemented, my clients continue to see the added value I deliver, and begin questioning their other vendors (the ones actually tasked with email and social media) for not identifying these opportunities themselves.
With all of that being said, I’d like to point out a few examples of somewhat successful yet ultimately unsuccessful social media campaigns. I do this with the hope that these companies who have done so well in their marketing efforts through traditional channels, can now begin to leverage and take full advantage of all of the unique nuances of these emerging channels. There are plenty more like them out there, but I’m actually happy to say that in my research I was pleasantly surprised to see that a lot of the brands I looked at were doing a pretty good job with their Facebook presence. And while there are also plenty of other social networks out there that would be critical for certain companies to leverage, I wanted to focus on the all-encompassing Facebook to get away from any particular niche.
ECOmagination
A few years ago, GE built the bandwagon of energy efficiency and conservation, not around saving people money, but around saving this planet. The bandwagon they started (I picture something like the Beverly Hillbillies car) now more closely resembles a Maglev train, quickly gaining momentum as individuals, corporations, and governments around the world have all made energy conservation one of their top priorities. Nearly 100 million people watched the Super Bowl this past year, and while theirs wasn’t the most memorable ad (read: no senseless violence and/or animals doing un-animal like things), for anybody who does feel a personal responsibility for being part of the solution, and believes corporations should start playing their part as well, the GE ECOmagination ad surely struck a chord in their hearts. So, when I saw the ad and became inspired to get involved, I went onto Facebook to see how I could join the movement. Search for ECOmagination on Facebook, and you’ll certainly find their official group, with all 208 members. To put this number into perspective, the McDonald’s fan page has over 200,000 fans. The Coca Cola fan page has over 3,000,000 fans. Now don’t get me wrong; I love Coca Cola. I love the brand, the taste, and basically everything there is to love about it. But I believe saving the planet, and ultimately saving ourselves and future generations, should come before living on “The Coke Side of Life” or “(ba da ba ba pa)…I’m Loving It.”
We can solve it
We can solve it, a project of the Alliance of Climate Protection, a non-profit, nonpartisan effort founded by Al Gore with more than 2 million members, has created a few separate initiatives to tackle the global climate dangers we face using our current energy resources. If you’ve seen their commercial and checked out their websites www.repoweramerica.org or www.wecansolveit.org, you’ll see that they could not have made it any easier to join their ranks. Smack dab in the middle of their homepage, all you have to do is give them your email, and instantly you’re a “Climate Champion.” And with this subscription, you will get multiple emails every week, updating you on current legislation, giving you tips to make a personal impact, as well as encouraging you to continue promoting clean energy. And in the few dozen emails I have received, not a single mention was made to get people to join the movement on Facebook. Across all fan pages, groups, and applications for this organization, there are fewer than 20,000 members/fans/users on Facebook. That is 1% of the 2 million members who willingly gave up their email addresses on these websites. Do you truly believe that only 1% of those members are actually on Facebook? Me neither. Email can be social, and email can be viral (did everyone get that most recent video of the dog running in his sleep and then waking up and running into a wall?) But Facebook has become the definition of social media, and has removed virtually any and all boundaries that prevent people from sharing anything they want. So rather than asking me to remember 5 email addresses to forward on the website, direct me to a Facebook page where with a few clicks of my mouse, I can announce my membership to the group and invite dozens or hundreds of my friends to join and get involved. Help me help you (Sorry I had to throw that in there).
I could probably go on, citing more examples of poor strategy or tactical decisions being made by countless organizations. You can watch their TV commercials, or browse their websites, and think they’ve got it all together, that they’ve thought it all through. But when you try to bridge the gap between the messages you receive on TV or in your email with the messages you want to put out to your social circles thru sites like Facebook, you’re prevented from doing so because of the lacking infrastructure. These companies need to stop spending millions of dollars to produce commercials aired during primetime television, or building robust websites and email campaigns, without first setting up the appropriate social networking channel to let their brand advocates do some of the legwork. From the basic Facebook group to the slightly more complex Facebook fan page to the even-more-complex-yet-still-not-rocket-science Facebook application development, there are different levels of involvement to avoid being absent from the space where people want to converse about and connect with your brand. Whether you’re a Fortune 500 company struggling in this economy or a non-profit trying to selflessly save this planet, you (and the planet) can’t afford this disconnect. Bridge the gap already!
